“As a naturally pure crystal appears to take the color of everything around it yet remains unchanged, the yogi’s heart remains pure and unaffected by its surroundings while attaining a state of oneness with all. This is Samādhi. (23)”
Dear Yogini,
I have derived so much real-life benefit from yoga that I only share my experiences and my understanding of the science and methodology of yoga to demonstrate its transformative effects. I hold the candid belief that no matter how life shows up for you, your sincere embodiment of the essence of yoga will serve you in all regards and, in particular, in living into an answer to your question. Eventually, dearest yogini, your resolute and vigilant enterprise on the yoga mat will lead you to a clear resolution of your dilemma for the simple reason you will become clear on your thoughts rather than identify with them in mistaken or confused understanding. You will touch the heart of your true self that has the clarity of a “transparent jewel.” (24)
When you understand and see for yourself the cyclical nature of your conditioning, you may then choose to release yourself of those beliefs and so-called friendships that no longer serve your self-evolution. The time to do so is when you notice your resistance to what is. And as you continue to unburden yourself from the weight of your stories, narratives, relationships and samskaras that are now obsolete your consciousness expands and you reflect your truth as a diamond its radiance.
Thus, samadhi is experienced as the state of resting in your own clarity, in your own truth. This is what is meant by the “light of the True Self.” For most of us, samadhi reveals itself in those subtlest of moments of inattention to our outside reality and inner thinking. Eventually perhaps, total absorption is achieved—this ability to rest in purusha, the ‘witness’, and step into the power of perceiving reality as it is, where the coverings, deceptions, illusions, and contraptions of the mind fall away and the light of consciousness shines through.
I am not suggesting that you read The Yoga Sūtras of Patañjali for leisure, but it is helpful to understand where to go looking for the sources to your questions as they come up in your yoga experiences, and they will. It is in sutra I.15 that you will find the first of eight instances of the word “samādhi” in the Yogic Wisdom. Here, its meaning can be better understood by knowing its derivation and the context in which it is used. It comes from the stem “ādhi,” meaning to think on, reflect, contemplate, or hold in mind. The prefix “ā” here indicates comprehensiveness or all-inclusiveness, reaching up to and including a certain limit. The prefix “sam” means collected together, or it expresses a quality of completeness, (25) as to abide in the unity of the mind, and rest within Self in a state of “oneness.”
Samadhi is not an advanced or mystical state of consciousness in its more common or misappropriated usage. It is rather more simply stated as a ‘coming home’ to the Self, or a belief in the purity of your spirit. Can you see how every other facet of the eight-limbed path is a pre-requisite for this experience? Samadhi is not a state to be achieved, for there is nothing to achieve. Samadhi does not represent ‘success’ in yoga. It represents the merging of all the collective experiences that arise from the practices of the first seven facets of the Yogic Wisdom, or yoga darshana, your way of viewing the world. Your work, dear yogini, is to keep showing up for practice, to keep polishing the facets of your inner jewel, and to remember who you are and want to be in your universe.
Peace and beautiful practice.
Sincerely yours,
Nicole